For the first time, scientists have caught a star in the act of exploding.

By Emily Sohn, 00:00 AM March 19, 2008

Stars explode all the time in outer space, but astronomers usually see the explosions only after they've happened. One type of stellar explosion, called a supernova, can glow for days or even months. Now, for the first time, scientists have actually caught a star in the act of going supernova.

The research team was using NASA's Swift spacecraft to study a galaxy called NGC 2770. They had aimed the spacecraft's X-ray telescope at a recently discovered supernova. Supernovas are dramatic explo...